_WHAT’S HAPPENING_
Pope Leo XIV, the spiritual leader of roughly 1.4 billion Catholics, released his first encyclical on May 25, titled Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence.
The document addresses artificial intelligence through the lens of Catholic social teaching, warning that AI is not morally neutral and must be ordered toward human dignity rather than pure efficiency and profit. In an unexpected move, the pope personally attended the Vatican presentation, where speakers included Christopher Olah, co-founder of major AI company Anthropic.
The pope used striking biblical references to draw comparisons about how AI development can proceed: the Tower of Babel to illustrate the devious path ahead, versus Nehemiah’s rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem as a more desirable approach.
Read the rest — free for 7 days.
Friday and Sunday coverage is for members only. Join our supporting readers who get the full story every morning — in under 5 minutes.
❤️ Start your free trial →Members get full access to:
- Six mornings a week, nothing missed
- 5-minute read
- Media spin exposed daily
- Realtime media fact-checks
- Concise story summaries
